“Don’t start with that. You’re as bright as any one of us.”
“No, I’m not,” Ober said, his voice still hushed. “You said it and it was true: I’m really not.”
“You are.”
“No, I’m not,” Ober said. “This’s the sixth job I’ve been fired from. It’ll take me months to find another job. And it’ll be worse than the last one. My life is just like our board-game company-one big bust.”
“Ober, don’t be so rough on yourself,” Ben said, his hand still on Ober’s shoulder. “Life doesn’t revolve around SAT scores and grade-point averages. Once you start looking, a sharp personality will carry you just as far. And if you have anything, you have that.”
“I don’t even have that,” Ober said, pulling away from Ben. “I’m not bright; I’m not resourceful; I don’t work well under pressure. Why do you think I can’t hold down a job? I’ve been failing at this one for months-they would’ve fired me soon anyway. This whole thing with Rick just sped up the process.”
“That’s not true,” Ben said.
“How do you know what’s true?” Ober asked, his eyes once again filling with tears. “You weren’t there. You’ve never seen me at work. Half the time, I don’t even know what I’m doing there.”
“You were an administrative assistant,” Ben interrupted. “That was a good job.”
“It was a below-average job,” Ober said, wiping the tears from his face with the back of his hand. “And the only reason I had it was because I investigated a death threat that I wrote. If it wasn’t for that, I’d still be answering phones.” Catching his breath, he looked into Ben’s eyes. “Why did this have to happen?”
Surprised by Ober’s emotional collapse, Ben almost didn’t recognize the friend he’d known since grade school. But as Ober became more hysterical, Ben instinctively stepped forward. “This was all my fault,” Ben said, embracing him.
“I just want it to be like it was when we first got here,” Ober said, his face buried in Ben’s shoulder. “Just the four of us. No fighting. No arguing.”
“It will be,” Ben said. “I promise.”
“It won’t,” Ober said. “It never will again. It’s over. We’re finished.”
“No, we’re not,” Ben said. “We’re all still friends. We’ll get through it.”
“No, we won’t!” Ober sobbed. “Nathan and you barely speak. Eric and Nathan never speak. I’m having the worst day of my life, and both of them are too damn busy with work to even come home to see me. That’s not a friendship. It’s a joke.”
“We’re not finished,” Ben insisted. “Rick won’t-”
“It doesn’t matter what Rick does anymore,” Ober wailed. “The damage is done. Nathan will never forgive you for getting me fired. And as long as Nathan is mad at you, Eric will be mad at him. You can’t change that.”
Silent as he stared at Ober, Ben knew his friend was right. “What about you?” he finally asked. “Will you forgive me?”
Ober wiped his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“But-”
“Please don’t say anything,” Ober interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it right now.”
Before Ben could respond, the phone rang. Ben glanced at it, then looked back at Ober.
“Pick it up,” Ober said. “You know you want to get it.”
“It’s not that,” Ben said. “It’s just-”
“Pick it up,” Ober insisted.
Ben grabbed the receiver. “Hello.”
“So, you still interested in Wayne and Portnoy?” Alcott asked enthusiastically.
“Adrian?” Ben asked, annoyed.
“Of course,” Alcott answered. “You had said to give you a call so we could set up a lunch, so I figured-”
“Adrian, why are you calling me at home?” Ben asked, rising from the couch. His movement sent the base of the phone crashing to the floor.
“I apologize,” Alcott said. “The secretary at the Court said you were gone for the weekend, and I wanted to set up something for Monday.”
“Let me tell you something,” Ben said, gripping the receiver. “Don’t call me at home. If I’m not at work, I don’t want to be bothered by you. In fact, even when I’m at work, I don’t want to be bothered. I know all about the firm, and an extra lunch isn’t going to get me to go there.”
“I’m-” Alcott stuttered.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Ben interrupted. “If I want to go to lunch, you’ll hear from me. Otherwise, leave me alone. I’m busy.” Without waiting for Alcott’s response, Ben slammed down the phone.
“Who was that?” Ober asked.
“No one,” Ben explained. “It was a-” The phone rang again. Ben picked it up. “Adrian, I’m sure you’re sorry, but I don’t want to hear it right now.”
“This isn’t Adrian, and I’m certainly not sorry.”
“Rick?” Ben asked, knowing the answer to his question.
“Sounds like you’re having quite a night,” Rick said. “Ober gets fired; he’s on the verge of a breakdown; you scream at the one person still recruiting you. I have to be honest; if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t yell at someone who was offering me a job.”
Ben turned to Ober. “Rick’s been listening all night. The whole place is bugged.” He turned back to the phone. “What do you want, Rick?”
“You know what I want,” Rick said. “The only question is whether you’re going to deliver.”
Ben sat down on the couch. “What do you think?”
“I think Ober’s breaking your heart. So my guess is you’re thinking of turning yourself in,” Rick said. “I just want you to know that if you give me the decision, you can still walk away from all this.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Ben said. “I’ll take it under advisement.”
“If the decision works out, you’ll never hear from me again. Case closed. You get to keep your job. Nathan gets to keep his. I get what I want. All parties are happy.” Without giving Ben a chance to respond, Rick continued, “If you’re interested, go to the Museum of American History at noon on Sunday. There’s a courtesy phone next to the information desk. Wait there, and I’ll leave a message where you can meet me. If you’re not there, your bankbook and Nathan’s letter will be hand-delivered to your respective superiors.”
“I’ll see you there,” Ben said coldly. Without another word, he hung up.
“What’d he say?” Ober asked.
“I hate that bastard,” Ben said. “He’s so damn smug.”
“Just tell me what he said.”
“Not here,” Ben said, looking around the room. “Not another word in this place.” Ben got up from the couch. “Let’s get out of here.”
“No way,” Ober said. “I’m done with this nonsense. You’re on your own.”
“I’m only going to Lisa’s. It’s a safer place to talk.”
“I don’t care where you’re going. I’ve had enough.”
“Are you okay with everything?” Ben asked, picking up his coat from the living room floor.
“Would you be?” Ober asked. “I just need to get some sleep.”
Knowing there was nothing he could say, Ben buttoned his coat, picked up his briefcase, and walked to the door. As he was about to leave, the door flew open and Nathan stormed inside. “Where the hell are you going?” Nathan asked Ben.
“Out,” Ben shot back, aggravated by Nathan’s accusatory tone.
“Hold on a second,” Nathan said. He turned to Ober and asked, “Did you really get fired?” When Ober nodded, Nathan turned back to Ben. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Really?” Ben asked. “Watch this.” Within seconds, Ben was out the door.
Running up the block, Ben headed directly for the nearest pay phone. Finding one a few blocks away, he pulled a scrap of paper from his jacket pocket, grabbed the receiver, and punched in DeRosa’s 800 number. “Answer the damn phone,” Ben said before the call had even registered.
Impatiently waiting for someone to pick up, Ben was alarmed to hear a recorded voice say, “The number you have reached is no longer in service. Please check the number and dial again.” Within seconds, he hung up and redialed the number, carefully checking to make sure he dialed correctly. Once again, he heard “The number you have reached is no longer in service. Please check the number and dial again.”